THE iDOLM@STER SHINY FESTA Profile Quote

Work is always welcome, nya!As seen by her wearing cat ears as an idol and ending her sentences with “nya”, Miku is a cat loving character. Even though she says “nya” like a cat all the time, she actually has a strong aversion to fish.

Character Description

Miku is a girl who really loves cats and likes to pretend she is one. Belonging in the Cute category, she is also the very first rival idol players encounter in the game. She is constantly in role, only stopping the cat girl act when in public places or to avoid drawing a crowd. She almost always wears cat ears and makes cat poses when happy.

She gets extremely annoyed when she is told to stop saying “nya” or being forced to stop having fun. While she comes from Osaka, Miku doesn't really share any of the traits associated with the stereotype. She doesn’t speak the Kansai dialect and doesn’t like tsukkomi and boke routines. She detests fish, despite loving to act like a cat, and gets frustrated when people assume she likes fish. However, being an Osakan, she's fond of takoyaki. When she gets frustrated by the staff in her drama CD, she throws their communicator speaker into the trash twice.

Despite being immature and fickle on occasion, including going on strike in the cafe when she's passed over for a debut in the anime, she also has a serious side as well. After her angry episode in the cafe, she's the first to console the other non-debuted idols and tell them they'll get their turn. She appears to take her studies seriously, being such an involved student that she's often overlooked or mistaken for someone else when she's in her "serious student" mode. She mentioned in one of her commus in Starlight Stage that she has never gotten a failing grade, underlining her studious nature. During the Nothing but You event, Nao Kamiya remarks that the usual, serious Miku fits more into the "cool" category than "cute".

Her cat obsession appears to date back several years; a photo in the anime shows her as a young child wearing cat ears, and her closet is full of pictures of cats that she took when she was little.

Miku thinks her birthday is very significant. It falls on 2/22, which also happens to be Japan's National Cat Day (222 sounds similar to "nya nya nya" when said in Japanese).

Miku Maekawa appears as a rival in the STAR OF FESTA mode for Honey Sound, Groovy Tune, and Funky Note. She is a C rank rival who can give her Name Card to the player while in the STANDARD difficulty. Obtaining her Name Card adds 10 points to the player's score after their performance.

Trivia and Fan Culture

Trivia

Before joining the Producer's agency, she was employed at another production. However, she quit when there was no work, and the higher-ups told her that cat characters were overused and suggested she be a giraffe idol instead.

Apparently, Miku carries hair brushes and toys for cats in her bag all the time.

Miku sometimes slips up using Kansai dialect when caught off-guard or not paying attention.

Miku likes her birthday, but apparently hates her zodiac sign (she is a Pisces). This might be due to her dislike towards fish.

Fan Culture

Due to the extreme opposite between her image as a cat idol and her actual self, she has two different nicknames; "Miku-nyan" as an idol and "Maekawa-san" as a school student (the latter being her common nickname among her school friends).

Miku's dislike for fish is a popular subject in fanworks, with many depicting her being faced with fish, forced to eat fish, or put together with idols who are associated with fish, such as Nanami Asari.

After Miya Miyao received her second SSR (which depicts her as a cat in the Awakened form), they are sometimes depicted together in fanart.